When We First Met
by Roranopa
Summary: Set in 1926, a clumsy girl is forced to leave her home in China, an arrogant young prince is forced to change his ways. How did these two come to meet each other?
1. Prologue

**Farfetched crossover, but I think I could pull it off… kind of xD**

**None of the characters are mine, only the idea and the story.**

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><p>A little three year old girl ran towards the entrance of the family's farm, where her mother and grandmother await. Not far behind her father follows, watching her as she runs, ready to catch her if she falls. As she gets closer, the girl stretches her hand to reach for her mother's, smiling Li takes her little hand in hers and walks towards the carriage that will take them all to the city.<p>

The New Year ceremony at the Imperial City was Mulan's favorite celebration, so far at least. The carriage rode for hours until finally they arrived at the massive open doors that led to the city; Mulan got out of the carriage with anticipation, taking her father's hand urging him to join the crowd that waited for the festival to start. Her family chose to stay at the middle of the crowd, which wasn't enough of a view for her, so with effort she opened up the crowd as to get to the front of it, to watch the parade from the best view.

Finally she saw the beginning of the parade; the big colorful drums that announced the beginning of the celebration sounded reaching every nook of the big city. Her eyes drifted, from one of the acrobats to the colorful dragons and yet again to the musicians. "Happy 1912 my little" she heard her father tell her.

Far away from there, the prince of the Maldonian throne sat bored near his tower room's window waiting for his parents to return. He preferred to stay, than to have his parents and uncle nagging him for walking a little further than instructed.

A servant entered his room with a plate of freshly picked fruit, juice and a smaller plate with toast and jelly.

The boy didn't even move from his place, he stretched his hand and waited for the servant to hand him the food. Once he was finished, the plates were removed and he was led to his readied bath, once clean another servant dried and dressed him for the day. Then he was led back to his room, to play with the same toys he was handed to every day. Luckily for the prince, his servants, unlike his parents left him alone to play; his parents would have a heart attack had they known that their little 8 year old boy was about to get out from the palace again.

He ran towards his bed and reached for the clothes under his mattress, he had traded them, for one of his shinny toys, with a servant boy some time ago. He changed quickly, messing up his hair for a greater effect. He opened the door of the tower and smoothly ran down the hall towards the servants' quarters. "Hey kid" the young prince froze in place as a servant walked towards him, 'stop fooling around, take this to the kitchen' he said while giving him the dirty plates from his breakfast. He took the tray with his head down; he kept walking through the hall and down the stairs where the kitchen and service room where. He placed the plates on the sink, and then avoided the other personnel on his way to the exit, scared of being recognized.

It wasn't the first time he escaped through the back door to the musical nook of the kingdom; he loved to spend his evenings there because he could dance freely on the street along with the other kids from the place and learn how to play the guitar. Her mother had always told him that it was the worst part of the city, which he should stay away from because the people there were a bad influence on the citizens.

But he knew better, they had the secret to enjoying life and he wasn't about to pass on it. He finally sat on his favorite spot to watch the dancers follow the rhythm of the music his friend, and mentor, Antonio played.

If her mother was ever to find out, he was as good as dead.

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><p><strong>N: I'm sorry Mulan timeline, Naveen's is way cooler.<strong>

**Edit: A cool timeline for them to meet at least.**


	2. The Matchmaker

**The Matchmaker**

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><p>Mulan wiped the sweat leaving behind a mud smudge on her forehead. She had worked all day long feeding hens and taking care of the horse under the merciless sun. Her last chore and the one that had taken the toll on her was weeding the field. She ripped the last discernible one from the root and smoothed the earth beneath it.<p>

Finally able to relax, she cleaned her hands on her apron, leaving big black stains on the white cloth. She stretched her arms and fingers, feeling the relieving pain on her legs as she rose on her feet after hours of kneeling on the dirt. She walked barefoot through the garden and climbed the stairs to the front door. She was careful not to stain the floor with the mud on her clothes and feet taking off her apron and laying it on the floor for her to step on. Although she felt pretty ridiculous, Mulan managed to keep the wood floor impeccable on her way to the bathroom. Once there she turned on the tap of the bathtub, with the first rush of cold water she washed her hands and feet; after a while the water heated, she placed the cap at the bottom of the tub and began to undress. She undid her messy hair bun and dipped her feet in the warm water. Once inside she washed her black waist-length hair, intentionally taking more time than necessary trying to delay the unavoidable.

She wasn't blind to the changing times, the servants had left one by one her home and her parents could no longer do any manual labour. She woke up every day to help with the house chores, even if her parents rather have her preparing to be a desirable wife. When her parents told her that they had hired a matchmaker to find her a suitable husband as was expected of a honourable family she couldn't help but think she would rather stay with them. The fact remained, she was to be assessed by Hua Lin in a few hours.

She closed her eyes running her fingers through her silky hair, slowly she opened them to look at the qipao she would wear for such occasion; the loose dress was red with golden embroidery. Mulan hated that dress, it got too much in the way and she constantly tripped on it or pushed things accidentally. The water began to get cold, reminding her that she couldn't stay there much longer. She lifted from the bathtub, wrapped a towel around herself and with another towel she blotted her hair; carefully she put on the soft fabric, went out of the bathroom and into her room hurriedly. "Mulan, you took too long" her mother said exasperated when she saw her. "Here let me help you" she took Mulan to her room by the arm in a hurry. She led her to the bench in front of her vanity table, softly combed her hair and arranged it in a traditional bun. Her grandmother entered the room with the red slippers to match her dress. "Remember to be humble and delicate" her mother advised her while she pulled out her make-up box. "You shouldn't worry so much, she is going to do just fine. But just in case, here are some charms for luck". Li painted her eyes and lips, meanwhile her grandmother took a necklace from her apron and placed it on her neck. "There, you look beautiful" her mother said finally.

Her father was already at the entrance of the house. He approached her and took his daughter's hand in both of his "I hope you know that we love you very much and wish for nothing but your happiness, this is for your future Mulan, please keep that in mind" he said as he looked into her eyes. Her distress grew at his words, the idea of someone scrutinizing her every move and every word as if she were on sale made her even more nervous about this meeting. She got on the carriage that would take her to the matchmaker's house.

-.-.-

Lin was waiting for her by the door, once she lowered herself from the carriage, Mulan was asked to get inside. The questions were of basic knowledge of how the wife should be, what instruments she knew how to play and if she knew how to read. Whenever she did or said anything, Lin would stop in her tracks to meditate on Mulan's answers and most of the times lower her gaze in disapproval. Her final task was to serve tea, but she was so nervous that her hands were shaking and she managed to miss the cup. "Stop" Lin said suddenly. "You may have a pretty face, but that is not all that it takes to be a good wife. Leave"

Mulan walked slowly to the door, even if her embarrassment made her feel like crying. The door closed behind her, but she could not bring herself to return home. She walked, almost ran, away from Hua Lin's house avoiding the carriage. Her mind was racing, remembering every mistake she made, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She finally came to a stop, tired, she leaned against the wall of an alleyway. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, catching her breath. Now relaxed, she opened her eyes, suddenly aware of her surroundings; in front of her she saw bright red letters painted on the wall "free women, modeng". The sound of horse hooves coming her way brought her out of her thoughts, she quickly turned her hair to see the carriage coming her way. She stepped out of the alleyway and ran to meet it. The carriage stopped and the driver lowered himself to help her in. The driver was relieved to see her, he politely told the girl that if she needed to be somewhere else before returning to her home, he could take her there without muttering a word to her family. She apologized for her rash behaviour, telling him she had just wanted to stay in town a little longer but she was now ready to go home. As she sat on the carriage her thoughts travelled back to what the matchmaker had said, she had failed to her parents and to her ancestors. How was she ever going to tell them about what Lin had said?

The carriage came to a stop at the gate. After the driver helped her off the carriage, Mulan quietly opened the gate to the courtyard. Her parents were waiting for her by the porch, but she could not face them just yet. Their smiles faded as they saw their daughter walk towards the back of the house without looking at them.

She walked through the arch that led to the small lake; she kneeled in front of it and with the water she cleaned the make-up from her face. She then sat on the white bench under the cherry blossom tree just beside the arch. She took off the piece that held together her hair softly she massaged her scalp with her fingers and then caressed her hair. She heard her father approaching but refused to look at him. He sat next to her in silence, waiting for her reaction to his presence. When she refused to look at him he smiled sadly. "What beautiful blossoms we have this year" he said softly. "But look, this one's late. I'll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all."


End file.
